Zelensky reacted to Trump’s accusations

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky “shrugged” and “smirked” when asked whether he had seen U.S. President Donald Trump’s statement that the Ukrainian leader is an “obstacle” to reaching a peace agreement.

This was reported by war correspondent Kim Barker in an article for The New York Times.

The journalist wrote that she asked the Ukrainian president whether he had seen Trump’s remark in which the U.S. president said Kyiv’s leader was an “obstacle” to peace in Ukraine. Barker noted that Zelensky “waved off” the question and “smirked at the thought of having to explain the reasons for the conflict.”

“I thought it was already clear who the aggressor is and who isn’t,” Zelensky said.

Zelensky also said he had heard various statements from U.S. special envoy Steven Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, and he “thanked them for their hard work on making a deal,” Barker wrote. At the same time, the journalist emphasized that Zelensky is “always cautious when talking about Trump.”

Zelensky also said that talks on resolving the crisis could resume during the week of March 9–15 if the sides are “seriously intending” to continue them. On March 4, Zelensky said that because of the U.S. and Israeli attack on Iran, talks on Ukraine had gone on pause. Before that, he had said negotiations could take place March 5–8.

Also in March, Trump said the end of the conflict in Ukraine is “approaching,” and stressed that it is a “very, very difficult” task.

Earlier, calls were voiced in Finland urging Zelensky to make peace with Russia because of events in Iran.